Legacy
by bcbdrums
Summary: "I heard my mother screaming and crying, but I was watching the water. It rose as high as the cliffs. Everyone was talking and yelling and crying, because we knew that nothing could protect Arendelle from that wave." Anniken stared at him with bated breath. "What happened?" "Then...I saw the queen."


**_A/N: Spoilers within. I repeat, spoilers within._**

* * *

"Grandpa?" young Anniken asked, her cloak swaying as she shyly stepped up next to the elderly man. "What's everyone doing? Why is everyone so happy?"

Guss shifted his girth on his cane and looked down at his tiny granddaughter, so slight in stature at the tender age of four that he scarcely felt her weight leaning against his leg.

"Today is one of the most important holidays in Arendelle," Guss replied, peering down into her curious eyes. "It is Dagelsa."

"What's Dagelsa?"

"The day Arendelle was saved from Runeard's Flood."

"Runeard's Flood?" Anniken asked, gripping his pant leg as her eyes grew wider.

Guss chuckled. "Come with me to the castle. Your mother and father will meet us there later for the celebration. And on the way I'll tell you what happened."

Anniken tugged on her grandfather's pant leg again. "Did you see it?"

"Yes. It was a day that I will never forget."

"Pick me up, Grandpa!" Anniken cried, stretching her arms skyward.

"Oh, Anniken..." Guss sighed, but he couldn't resist her bright smile. He slowly bent and reached with one of his arms until she could grab his hand. "Hold tight," he said, and swung her up in one motion into his other arm. She was so small and he so big, that she fit in the crook of only one arm. "Now don't let go. Grandpa needs his other hand for his cane."

"Why do you need a cane, Grandpa?"

"My leg was injured during the war against the Southern Isles. But I thought you wanted to hear about Dagelsa?"

"Yes! Tell me about the flood," she said, hugging him 'round the neck.

Guss rested his cheek against her head and smiled. He never could resist anything his granddaughter requested of him. He leaned more heavily on his cane as they began the journey from the town square to the castle.

"Back then, my hair was as dark as yours," he said. Anniken reached up to smooth down his thin, white hair before settling her arm around his neck again. "And it began with the anger of the spirits."

"Spirits?"

"Yes, little one. The four spirits of wind and water, and of earth and flame."

"Where did they come from?"

"I don't know. We had never bothered with them before, because they had never bothered with us. But one night they became angry, and attacked our city with their great magic."

Anniken's curious eyes began to grow fearful, and Guss cleared his throat.

"But...only enough to send us out of the city. They extinguished the flames and shook the ground, and blew a mighty wind."

"Did the water spirit cause the great flood?"

"No. That came much later. We fled the city and remained there," Guss turned and pointed beyond the castle up to the high cliff. "The trolls cared for us while we waited for answers."

"When do I get to meet the trolls? Áki already got to."

Guss smiled. "When you're older."

"That's what Mama says," Anniken grumbled.

"And she's right. You are far too young to play with them. I was too young when we were sheltering from the spirits, and I was nearly ten."

A swirl of autumn leaves blew past and Guss stumbled, leaning more heavily against his cane until the gale passed by.

"We waited for days that came and went like any other, except for being displaced from our homes. The spirits had gone silent after that night they attacked."

"Was it our home, Grandpa?"

"Yes. The house we live in now was my house when I was a child."

"So the spirits didn't destroy it?"

"No little one. Later we learned they had only been trying to warn us to get out of the city, because they knew about the flood."

They entered the castle courtyard where blue and white flags adorned every pole, each bearing the silhouette of a woman and a snowflake. And across from the fountains stood two tall statues where crowds had gathered.

"Put me down, Grandpa! Put me down!"

"Okay," Guss said, gratefully leaning forward until his granddaughter could slide safely off of his arm.

Once her feet hit the ground she ran toward the smaller of the two crowds and began pushing through the people to get to the statue. Guss increased his pace as Anniken disappeared from his sight until he reached the fringe of the gathering. Aged though he was, his taller-than-typical stature helped him spot his tiny granddaughter leaning against the pedestal that bore the two figures.

"Who are they, Grandpa?" she asked as he made his way through the crowd.

"That is King Agnarr and Queen Iduna when they were children," he answered with a smile.

"What were they like?" Anniken asked, staring up at the stone figures.

"I don't know. They died years before I was born. But my grandfather told me Arendelle prospered under their rule."

Anniken ran back to her grandfather and embraced his leg.

"She's Northuldra."

"Yes, she is."

"When do I get to go meet the Northuldra? Áki already got to go with Mama last year."

"It's too long to travel for you, little one."

"Can't we just take the train?"

"The trains can't run over the cliffs. The only way to the Northuldra is by reindeer."

"I can do it!"

Guss's smile faded for the first time. "It will have to wait until you're older."

"But I want to meet my cousins..." Anniken said, sniffling.

"I know Anniken. But with your father working during the summer, it is simply too hard a journey for your mother with you and your brother."

Guss saw tears beginning to pool in his granddaughter's eyes and tried to think of a distraction.

"Do you want to hear about the flood?"

In a flash, the young girl's sadness was forgotten and she looked up at her grandfather with excited eyes.

"Yes! What happened?"

"We didn't find out the true cause until later, but I remember hearing the rush of water from a distance. And then voices shouting."

The crowd around them had stepped back slightly, the people of Arendelle listening intently to the tale. But Guss didn't mind, having told it in varying degrees of detail over the years. He knew he was one of the few living eyewitnesses left.

"My father shouted to my mother, and she ran to the cliffs. I ran after her as the water got louder."

Anniken was staring with wide-eyes again, but without fear. Guss considered for a moment before continuing.

"I heard my mother screaming and crying, but I was watching the water. It came through there," he pointed to the cliff tops, and Anniken and the crowd turned to look, "and it rose as high as the cliffs. Everyone was talking and yelling and crying, because we knew that nothing could protect Arendelle from that wave."

Anniken was staring up at him with bated breath. "What happened?"

Guss smiled. "Then...I saw the queen."

"Queen Fridda?" Anniken asked.

Guss shook his head. "No."

"Queen Anna? I'm named after her! She and Mama were friends when Mama was a baby!" Anniken said.

"Yes that's right," Guss smiled. "But no, not Queen Anna."

The girl was confused and pursed her lips into a frown. "Queen...?" she asked, pointing up at the statue of Iduna.

"No, she had died before I was born, remember?" Guss said, turning and stepping out of the crowd who parted for him.

Anniken was upset now. "But there are no other queens?" she pouted, trailing after him along with the crowd.

"Yes, there was. For three years we had another beautiful queen," Guss said as he approached the other statue. Anniken reached his side and looked up in awe as the second crowd parted. "Queen Elsa."

"Who is Queen Elsa?" Anniken asked, rushing up to the base of the statue. "She doesn't look like a queen."

Guss smiled fondly as he gazed at the stone image of the woman who never wore a tiara and whose clothing had been made of ice. The off-the-shoulder gown of the statue studded with etchings of tiny snowflakes and the single long braid perfectly represented the woman who now had a holiday named for her, but who looked nothing like a typical queen of Arendelle.

"She was Queen Anna's older sister. She inherited the throne when King Agnarr and Queen Iduna died."

"Oh. What happened to her?" Anniken asked, running her hands over the four diamond-shaped patterns on the pedestal each with unique etchings inside.

"First I need to finish the story," Guss said. His granddaughter turned and ran back to him. He reached down with one arm and she scrambled up into his embrace again. He lowered his voice conspiratorially, and the surrounding crowd leaned in to listen. "The queen...was secretly a fifth spirit. She had magical powers."

"Whoa..." Anniken said, her eyes growing wide. "Real magic?"

Guss nodded. "Real magic. She had powers of snow and ice. And as the flood rushed toward Arendelle I saw her, shining like a single, precious snowflake atop the wave. She rode a magical horse made of water over the wave until she reached the city."

A young boy's voice from the crowd drew both Guss's and Anniken's attention. "What happened next?"

Guss turned, leaning against his cane to address the people who had gathered.

"The queen lifted her hands and a giant snowflake with the symbols of the spirits of wind and water and earth and flame appeared in front of her. It was bigger than the city and taller than the castle. It held back the waters and protected the city."

"How long did it stay there?" another voice asked.

"Only moments. The queen lifted her hands again and the snowflake and waters vanished as if they had never been there. It was the most powerful magic I have ever seen."

Anniken touched his face with her small hand, and he turned back to her.

"You've seen other magic?"

"Yes little one. And soon you will see it too. It comes every year on Dagelsa."

There were nods and murmurs of agreement from the crowd and Anniken looked around at them in confusion.

"When?"

"First," Guss said, carefully setting her down, "we have to wait for King Hákon and Queen Fridda to officially welcome the holiday. Then we need to find your mother and father. They're bringing you a present so you can enjoy the magic."

The crowd began dispersing as a light snow began to fall.

Anniken lifted her hands until a single snowflake hit the back of her hand and melted. "Grandpa, why is it snowing in autumn? Wait, a present? What kind of present?" she asked excitedly, gripping his pant leg.

Guss stroked her dark hair as he leaned against his cane.

"Ice skates."


End file.
